The present disclosure relates to controlling dusting from additive particles and, more particularly, to application of biodegradable oils to additive particles to control dusting.
There are a variety of industries that use additive particles that are prone to “dusting.” “Dusting” may occur when particles are transferred or moved and smaller particulates or dust get stirred up and remain in the air instead of moving into the new container or location. Dusting may be quite problematic. In the oil and gas industry, for example, proppant is one type of additive particle that may commonly be used to prop fractures in an open position. A common proppant is sand. Sand is prone to dusting as the smaller silica particulates or dust tends to get stirred up into the air during transfer. The proppant may often be stored in a storage container, such as a silo, so the proppant is on-hand and readily available at the work site when needed for subterranean treatments. Dusting may generally occur when transferring the proppant into the storage container or removing the proppant from the storage container for use in the subterranean treatments.
In order to combat the problems of dusting, a liquid, such as water may be sprayed onto the particles before and/or during transfer of the particles. The liquid may help weight down the smaller particulates of dust and keep them from becoming stirred up or airborne. Moreover, equipment, such as a vacuum, may be used to suck the dust out of the air. However, some of the disadvantages to using a liquid to combat dusting is that the liquid may evaporate, which may leave the particulates susceptible to dusting during the next transfer. As a result, when a liquid is used, it is common to have to keep re-applying the liquid before or during each transfer of the particles. Additionally, equipment, such as a vacuum, may be expensive and cumbersome due to the physical size and handling of the equipment near the transfer area.